Her olive skin seemed to pale and for the first time since I had met her, I was certain that we were up against a force that was more powerful than her.
Chills ran down my spine and dread unlike anything I’d ever felt before swept over me. I stared up at Derek, somehow knowing deep inside that both of us would break before we could be made whole again.
Alarm was in Derek’s eyes when he broke gaze with Corrine in order to look at me. “Sofia, you’re trembling.”
I wasn’t aware of how tightly I was squeezing his arm. I shook my head, not knowing how to articulate to him what was going through my mind. Even if I could, I didn’t know if it would be wise to voice out the fears I had coursing through me.
I once again caught sight of Gregor’s body—which was now being pulled from the pole it was impaled on. Despite all my apprehensions, I nodded my head resolutely. I needed to have faith. I couldn’t afford not to have it. “We’re going to make it, Derek.”
When he pulled me closer to him and pressed his lips against my temple, I took it as reassurance that I was right.
The rest of the morning wore on with Eli and Liana working with Gavin and Ian, trying to figure out how to make the blood drive among the humans happen. Xavier, Cameron and Derek saw to arrangements about Gregor’s body. Last time I caught a glimpse of Yuri, he was taking a walk with Claudia—something that I found delight in. On the other hand, I was left to deal with my father and all the questions he had about what went on between Derek and me throughout the night.
“You let him drink your blood again, didn’t you?” was the first thing he asked me the moment I had settled myself in the dining room of my chambers at The Catacombs.
Well, I didn’t exactly let him. I just kind of woke up to find that he was already having his fill. Of course, I wasn’t about to tell Aiden that. “Do we have to go through this again?”
Aiden’s lips shut tight and we ate breakfast in silence without a word being exchanged until he finally asked the question that had probably been burning through his thoughts all night. “Is he allowing the hunters to come?”
“Do you have any idea at all how much is hanging on the balance should this cure be for real?”
“You saw Ingrid turn back into a human, Sofia. With your own eyes!” he exclaimed. “I don’t understand how you could still hold so much doubt after witnessing something like that.”
“What if it only works on her? What if it doesn’t work on all vampires?”
“We won’t know until we try, will we?”
I couldn’t fight back the uneasy feeling I had over the whole matter. I wanted to believe Aiden. I wanted to trust him, to believe that he wasn’t going to screw us all over, but this dread inside kept nagging at me that something was amiss. “I hope you understand that Derek means everything to me. You betray him, you betray me.”
“I know that, Sofia. I also hope that you realize that you are my daughter and I will always fight for what I believe is best for you.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “I know I messed up big time. I know I wasn’t a good father to you, but I want that to change. I want you to trust me.”
I couldn’t bear the idea of shooting him down after what felt like one of the most sincere things he’d ever told me. Hesitantly, I nodded and gave him the go signal to something that could end us all.
“Have the hunters come.”
CHAPTER 46: DEREK
I was dragging myself through the entire day. The heavy weight that settled on my chest the moment I realized that I had just lost my father was inescapable. I’d always been at odds with Gregor Novak but I had never wished such a death on him. I had no idea how to face Vivienne. I wasn’t even sure if she’d already been told. I sure didn’t want to be the one to break the news to her. The mere thought of seeing her tears over the passing away of our father was more emotion than I knew how to handle.
It seemed that it was the hand I’d been dealt. Fix one problem and another will pop up. You’re not even allowed time to just gather yourself together and pick the pieces up to prepare for the next tragedy.
By the end of the day, I was ready to escape into sleep—the only recourse I had that would allow me to shut all my anxieties, fears and doubts out. I momentarily entertained the idea of going to Sofia at The Catacombs, but sleep really seemed to be a more enticing escape than even my lovely redhead, who for certain was with Aiden, someone who would once again remind me about what I was already deeply guilty about. I could still feel Sofia’s blood coursing through me. I was certain that it was the wellspring I was drawing life from throughout that day. It was also my deepest source of shame.
I just want to escape. All of it. For a few hours, I want to be rid of all of this.
Xavier had gone with me to the Pavilion—most likely to check on Vivienne, who was being looked after by Liana. When he realized that I was off to my own penthouse, Xavier called me out on it. “Aren’t you even going to check on Vivienne? I think she needs you.”
I tensed at the thought. “I don’t know if I can…”
“You have to, Derek. If there’s anyone who can understand what you’re going through, it’s her. And it’s your comfort and presence that she needs most right now. She’d barely just wrapped her head around Lucas’ death at The Oasis. She needs you for this.”
I knew he was right, so despite the ache I felt inside, I begrudgingly obliged. I made my way to my sister’s penthouse and found her inside her greenhouse, amidst her beloved orchids, roses, lilies and tulips. Her blue-violet gaze was misty with tears.
“Vivienne…”
She looked up and the moment she laid eyes on me, she broke down crying. She immediately approached me and threw her arms around my neck. I wrapped my hands around her waist and pulled her against me, allowing her to sob as long and as much as she needed to. I didn’t know what to say to her. I found myself hoping that my presence was enough, because I couldn’t find the right words to comfort her.
“It’s just you and me now…” she rasped out in between sobs, her voice hoarse and choked. “We’re the last of the Novaks.”
I hung my head—almost as if I was ashamed that this was true, almost as if it was my fault Gregor was gone.
When her sobs subsided, she pulled away from me and nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on a black orchid which she was gently caressing with her thumb. “I knew it would happen…” she eventually said. “He was too far into the dark. He was fighting with every bit of his strength to stay in the light, but even you weren’t strong enough to stand against it when it began to consume you. He’d been giving into it for too long.”